There are few other ways to describe a musician who sings his own songs, especially as a solo act. But there was a time when the term conjured the image of a craftsman, someone for whom the songs, not the mere act of performing them, were the main thing, someone whose very character and lifestyle were tangled up with the songs.

Danny Shafer is that kind of a singer-songwriter.

He has been singing and songwriting in the metro Denver area for more than 20 years. He led the band the Unknown Americans and currently leads The 21st Century. But, as is the singer-songwriter way, he often performs solo, and this month he's releasing his fourth solo recording.

Called "Wherever You Are," the CD contains 12 tracks, and its official release will come with an April 26 performance at the Wildflower Pavilion on the grounds of Planet Bluegrass in Lyons. The CD exhibits Shafer's deft way of creating little works of musical art that are whole packages. The component parts of his tunes -- the words, the chords, the structure -- seem as if they fit just right together, like elements in a molecule.

Second Story Garage performances

Check out Danny Shafer performing in three music videos and his interview in our SecondStoryGarage

The recording was produced with Bob Tarantino of Boulder-based Tolstar Productions. Tarantino helped Shafer sift through years of material for the CD.

"Me and him went through a lot of my old catalog of songs," Shafer said, adding that part of the goal was to choose songs that would contribute to a cohesive record. He wrote some of the material in 1991. Some, he wrote six months ago.

Shafer remembers meeting Tarantino at a gig.

"I thought, 'This guy is a hell of a songwriter,' " said Tarantino, who used to play and produce music in New York before relocating to Jamestown. "When I got to talking with him, we just had a similar philosophy on music. I think he's one of the best songwriters I've ever come across."

Tarantino also appreciates Shafer's approach to the business.

"Working with Danny was such a pleasure. He's not only talented but he's a hard worker," Tarantino said. "It's about the music for him. I don't think he could do anything else."

Shafer acknowledges the role of a strong work ethic in what he does.

"I play 200 shows a year," he said. "I think they thought, 'This guy won't quit. He's relentless.' They knew I would work hard to get this record out."

Creating the CD was something of a family affair, with a painting by Shafer's fiance, Amanda Anderson, appearing on the cover.

If you want to familiarize yourself with Shafer before his Planet Bluegrass gig, you can listen to three tracks from the new CD on Shafer's website, dannyshafer.com, or catch some live recordings in the Daily Camera's Second Story Garage, secondstorygarage.com.

Local duo joining overseas exhibition excursionFilippo Swartz went to Italy, where his mother was born and he spent the first year or so of his life, every summer until he had to stick around to be a part of summer football activities for the Longmont High School team. Full Story

MacIntyre says the completed project will be best in Pac-12There were bulldozers, hard hats, mud, concrete trucks, blueprints, mud, cranes, lots of noise and, uh, mud, during the last recruiting cycle when Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre brought recruits to campus. Full Story

Most people don't play guitar like Grayson Erhard does. That's because most people can't play guitar like he does. The guitarist for Fort Collins' Aspen Hourglass often uses a difficult two-hands-on-the-fretboard technique that Eddie Van Halen first popularized but which players such as Erhard have developed beyond pop-rock vulgarity.
Full Story